
My name is Mareya Ibrahim, and I live in Aliso Viejo, CA—a sleepy bedroom community in south Orange County. In 2006, my father, a professor emeritus and environmental scientist, was diagnosed with bladder and prostate cancer. I thought my world would fall apart at the seams. My parents and I had immigrated to the US from Egypt when I was two and despite their countless struggles in our new country, I never saw fear in him until now. He would have to have his bladder and prostate removed, joining the group of autoimmune compromised. He would have to be very diligent about a lot of things, including cleanliness around changing his catheter, how he ate and how he interacted with people. The part that really unnerved me was his doctors told him to avoid raw foods, including vegetables and leafy greens.
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